


New Beginnings

by thisisamadhouse



Series: What the future holds [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark Outlaw Queen, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 08:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15945350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisamadhouse/pseuds/thisisamadhouse
Summary: A/N: For Dark!OQ week Day 4 Free day, a mix of the previous days' prompts, inspired by a post on Twitter and Lana saying that the Queen would probably wear a black dress on her wedding day.





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: For Dark!OQ week Day 4 Free day, a mix of the previous days' prompts, inspired by a post on Twitter and Lana saying that the Queen would probably wear a black dress on her wedding day.

 

* * *

 

As she stands in front of her full-length mirror, twirling in a slow circle to check on the final adjustments she has made to her dress, Regina feels at peace. It is a new, and quite unexpected, sensation for her, especially considering the whirlwind of the past few weeks, ever since Robin's proposal, ever since she found him in the Wish Realm to be quite honest.

Finding nothing out of place on her floor length, backless, lacy black dress, she adjusts the sleeves on her shoulders and faces the mirror once more. She can barely recognize herself, the easy, wide smile on her lips is such a strange, foreign sight, but she couldn't stop it if she wanted to. Who would have thought that following the other Regina's advice and starting over with Robin of Locksley, elusive thief, would lead her here?

The last time she was being prepped for her wedding, she had felt like a lamb sent for slaughter, unable to escape, her fate in the hands of others, manipulating the strings as if she had been little more than a puppet. This time, a crown of daisies painstakingly gathered and assembled by Roland would replace the heavy, bejeweled monstrosity once placed on her head by the King. This time, the crowd of unknown observers, whisperers and hypocrite well-wishers would be nowhere to be found, instead, merry, slightly drunk men and women from the camp right outside the Castle would cheer and celebrate well into the night. This time, she would walk to a man happy and proud to call her his wife, there would be no disgust, no apprehension for she loved her husband to be. This time, she would choose her new family, instead of being bought by one.

However, the road that led them here hasn't been an easy one. Barely an hour after she joined Robin in the tavern, soldiers from newly crowned King Henry's army barged in, forcing them to flee. When hiding had proven ineffective, they decided to go their separate way, hoping that the guards would be too busy looking for a couple to pay lonely travelers much attention, and that things would calm down in time.

The Queen in disguise walked until she stumbled upon the ruins of what had once been her counterpart's castle in that Realm. Being confronted to the glaring evidence of the defeat of the woman who could have been her sent a painful stab straight to her newly mended heart. She couldn't stay there. She kept going until she found an abandoned house at the edge of a small village. She would mingle during the local market to get some necessities and hear some news. She nearly gave herself away when she heard rumours that the Sheriff of Nottingham had arrested and ordered the execution of the infamous thief Robin of Locksley. The Sheriff had probably felt a perverse pleasure in finally succeeding in catching the man that had so recently eluded him.

Regina immediately set out to find them. She would not stand by while another version of Robin was threatened. She arrived just in time, distracted the Sheriff and his goons by setting on fire the structure they had set up to hang their prisoner, and had made both Robin and herself disappear in clouds of smoke.

She transported them to the little house she had claimed and untied him.

"You shouldn't have come back," was the first thing he told her as he rubbed his newly freed wrists.

"I could always send you back if you'd rather deal with them on your own," she replied scathingly, lips set in a thin line, brows furrowed at the ingratitude.

He looked up at her. "I'm not saying it wasn't generous, just stupid," he amended and Regina felt the fury rise inside her.

"How dare y…" She started but he cut her off.

"Don't you understand that they were trying to lure you in? The Sheriff is working with the new King. He was on his way, they were going to make a big announcement, hoping you would show up, and kill two birds with one stone, literally kill."

"Well, obviously they failed and we got away in one piece, so I really don't see what the problem…" She trailed off. "Where the hell are you going?" She demanded to know when he headed towards the door.

"I'm sticking to the plan and making sure we  _stay_ in one piece. We can't be seen together, and it would probably be wise if we headed in two different directions very far from here, because it's clear that this young peacock won't give up anytime soon," Robin replied, his hand on the handle, running out of patience with her when she wouldn't even admit to the obvious.

"You don't know anything about him," Regina screeched, clenching her fists, feeling her nails sink into her palms.

"And you don't either!" Robin exclaimed, and sighed when his outburst left her speechless. "I saw the portraits back in that strange town, I know what you think, but he is not your son, he doesn't know you. He has been brought up hating you and he saw you kill his grandparents, there is nothing you can do to change his mind about you, but if you still are foolish enough to try, I don't want to be a part of it," he said with an air of finality, opening the door.

"Wait," she exhaled, a part of her had indeed been hoping that if she faced Henry in the right conditions she could get through to him, but Robin's words had a ring of truth to them. "We can't stay here," she whispered, closing her eyes, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

"That's all I've been saying and I'm trying to leave, so if you don't mind…"

"I meant in this realm. We can't stay in the Wish Realm, it's too dangerous, we will be on the run for the rest of our lives, that's not what any of us signed up for," she explained, rolling her eyes when a satisfied smirk graced his lips.

"Could you be seeing reason?" He wondered.

"You're a bastard you know that?" She huffed, crossing her arms.

"And you're a stubborn mule," he countered. "What exactly do you propose we do? It's not like there are portals waiting around for us to jump into!"

She shrugged. "That depends. What do you know about giants and beanstalks in this realm?"

It turned out there were some surviving, magic beans growing giants in the Wish Realm, and using Robin's stealth skills they managed to steal a couple of the precious crop undetected.

As they stood side by side, ready to throw a bean and leave this wretched place behind them once and for all, Regina hesitated.

"What is it?" Robin asked, narrowing his eyes as she bit her bottom lip.

"There is something I need to tell you about where we're going. It's the place where we are all from, those you saw in Storybrooke, and also…" She paused.

"The other Robin?" He replied, understanding dawning on him. She nodded.

"There are people there who knew him far longer than I did, and there is also a little boy, his son…"

He cut her off. "He had another child?"

"Yes, Roland, he is the sweetest almost 5-years old you will ever meet, and I cared a lot about him, but I would get it if you didn't..."

"Who is his mother?" The way he said it implied he already suspected who, and was waiting for the confirmation with bated breath.

"Marian, yes" Regina swallowed hard at the sparkle of hope that shone in his eyes. W _ould it always come to this?_  She wondered.

"A version of Marian had a child, a happy life," he breathed out, and she realised it was the first time she was seeing a real smile on his face.

"You have to understand that it's not the Marian you knew, and Roland has already lost so much, I wouldn't want to confuse or hurt him any more than he already has been," she winced as the smile slid off his lips.

"Of course not. Kids have never been something I saw in my future, but this is Marian's child, and you obviously care for him, I think I can manage not to be a complete oaf," he muttered and she sighed.

"That's not at all what I was…"

"Are we leaving or what?" He dismissed her, nodding at the bean she was still holding.

She threw it on the ground,  _one step forward three steps back_ , she thought as they jumped into the portal. How could they be expected to get along with such explosive tempers?

Things calmed down when they reached the Enchanted Forest. Joining the Merry Men and Roland had been a good decision. Both Robin and Regina were used to doing things alone, working as a team, while sometimes causing them to butt heads, also allowed them to see a different side of their personalities. Robin could argue that he wasn't in any way, shape or form like the other Robin, but he was a natural leader, and having robbed people on his own for years gave him a different perspective. Regina was highly versed in ambushes and her magic gave them a huge advantage.

They made it work, though progress on a more personal level was slow. Given his reaction to the news of Roland's parentage, Regina feared that she would play second-fiddle to a dead Marian, and she had enough bad memories from her wedding to Leopold and Zelena's deception to last her several lifetimes.

One night, after Roland had been put to bed, she decided to take a walk in the forest, needing some time to herself. Robin had been nowhere to be found, and as she neared a clearing she understood why: he had beaten her to it.

He was sitting on a log, a small fire burning in front of him. She was about to leave him alone, and move further into the woods, when she heard him talking.

"It's strange how this boy can look so much like you when you're not the one who gave birth to him," he said, and Regina noticed the piece of paper he was holding. From afar it looked like a drawing, she couldn't see of what though. Curiosity sparked, she slowly and quietly stepped closer.

"You would like him, he talks a lot, like you used to do, and he has this laugh… It's infectious. I never thought I would laugh again like that, and then this boy and this woman barged into my life and…" He trailed off. "She is infuriating Marian, she loves to fight, and she fights dirty, but when she is with Roland… Just looking at them together, I feel different. This life we have here, I think there is something for me, but I think I have to give them a chance, a real chance. I can't hang onto the past anymore, I have to let you go. This is everything you wanted for me,  _they_ are everything you wanted for me," he paused for a moment, his head turning slightly to the side, and Regina held her breath. "You can come out now," he called out and she gasped, unmoving for a few seconds until he turned more fully towards her, extended a hand in her direction.

She walked to him, taking his hand as she sat down beside him. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped," she said, apologies had never been her forte, and his smirk told her that he had realised that by then.

"I probably would have done the same," he admitted, glancing back down to the drawing he was still holding.

Regina could see it clearly now: it was a portrait of Marian. It was worn, there were tears all around and smudges in some places, but the image was still clearly visible. "It's beautiful," she said.

"She was," Robin concurred. "But I have had this for far too long. She is gone and she wouldn't have wanted me to cling to some image."

"They never do," Regina agreed in a whisper, thinking about the other Robin and Daniel, too full of life themselves to be reduced to a likeness.

"I think it's time to see what the future holds," he told her, threading their fingers.

"I would like that," Regina smiled in return.

Bringing their joined hands to his lips, Robin pressed a kiss to her knuckles as he let the parchment fall into the flames.

They watched the paper blacken and fall apart in the fire until there was nothing left of it.

"New beginnings?" Robin asked and Regina nodded.

"New beginnings."

* * *

"Regina?" Roland's enthused call through the door brings her out of her reverie. "Are you ready?"

She chuckles in reply. "Yes, sweetheart, I am, you can come in."

The boy practically bounces into the room, he has been so excited about the wedding, wanting to be part of everything. He stops in front of her, his little mouth hanging open.

"You're beautiful, Regina," he lets out breathlessly.

"Thank you, my little Knight," she hasn't been able to stop using that nickname, and Roland doesn't mind, to her relief.

"But you forgot your crown!" He exclaims and she grins, shaking her head.

"I didn't, I just thought that you should be the one to put it on my head."

"Really?" He asks, wide eyes sparkling with excitement.

She nods, taking the crown from the cushion where it rested, and kneels in front of him, handing it to him.

He carefully places it on her head, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Here," he says when he's done. "It's perfect now."

She turns towards the mirror, watching them, thinking about who's awaiting them down at the camp. "Yes, it is."

She straightens up and extends her hand to the boy. "Well, kind Sir, let's go and see what the future holds.

Roland giggles and pulls her along with him.


End file.
